Election Night
by KristyP
Summary: How I want election night to go...first chapter ensemble, second JD
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not my characters, just borrowing them

Please review!

"We are prepared to call this presidential election for Matthew Santos..." anything the newscaster said beyond that was drowned out by yelling in the Santos suite at the Marriot in downtown Houston.

Leo walked up to Matt with his hand outstretched, "Congratulations."

Matt took his hand, "Thanks. You too."

"Now comes the hard part." Leo's eyes were shinning with pride.

Matt chuckled, "I'm glad you're here."

As more champagne was poured and the noise didn't die down, Helen began to realize the magnitude of what had happened. This was something she had only seen on TV, didn't realize that real people actually did get elected president. Her husband materialized out of the crowd and walked up to her, hugged her. She fought back tears, "I love you."

"I love you too," he replied kissing the top of her head. "I just got elected president honey," a little shock apparent in his voice.

"I know. I know," she murmured, echoing his sentiment.

"I think you need one of these," Lou offered Annabeth a glass of champagne.

"Thank you," she said taking it. "But only one, otherwise I get a little tipsy."

"I just realized we won a national campaign and I now work for the White House, I need to get a little tipsy."

"It's not as scary as you think," Annabeth said after a minute.

"Ya, but he wasn't supposed to win," Lou downed her glass.

"Sometimes the good guy does win," she replied with a smile.

Lou smirked at her and made her way over to the press starting to gather in the suite.

"Sir," Josh said to Santos, "we have to head down soon. Brad will be here any minute with the speech. Some of the press also want some initial reactions," he said motioning to the group of reporters behind him.

"Alright," he nodded, arm still around his wife.

"I'm gonna go freshen up before we leave," Helen said. She gave her husband's hand a squeeze and disappeared to their part of the suite.

"What does it feel like?" A reporter asked as they gathered around Santos.

"I'll let you know when the shock wears off," Santos replied with a laugh.

Josh's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the caller ID; he couldn't believe what it read. "Sam," he said into the phone as he moved away from the group gathered around the president-elect to a less crowded corner of the suite.  
"Josh," came the familiar voice. "You did it buddy."

"I can't believe it."

"I know you don't have a lot of time to talk but, I just wanted to say congratulations."

Josh found himself a little wistful, wishing his best friend could be here with him. "Thanks." After a pause he said "Hopefully, we'll get to talk soon."

"I would like that. Catch up."

"Yea, catch up. Bye Sam."

"Bye Josh."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still not mine

Tell me what you think.

"Josh!" someone yelled from across the room, "any news on the exit polls?"

"Um, I'll find out."

Brad made his way to where Josh was, "Press is gonna want-"

"Don't worry about it. Enjoy the night." Josh patted him on the shoulder and walked to one of the bedrooms serving as a conference room. He found Donna sitting at a table surrounded by papers and staffers. He watched from the doorway. The staff looked anxiously at her, needing some direction. She assigned a few last minute responsibilities, and then told everyone to enjoy the night, "This only happens once in a lifetime," she paused, "twice if you're lucky."

"Thanks Donna," some of the staff said as they walked past Josh out of the room. "We'll see you down there."

"Donna," Josh said quietly after the room had emptied. His hands were in his pockets as he continued to observe her. She barely acknowledged his presence, as she tucked some loose hair behind her ears and continued reading some polls.

"I just sent some people to call the final districts. We should have their numbers in an hour."

"We don't need those demographics until tomorrow afternoon. I'm going down the see the acceptance speech."

"I will be there after I get the final numbers," Donna looked up. "Josh wait, you can't leave with your tie like that. Let me fix it." Donna got up from the table and walked over to Josh who was now leaning in the doorway. "How do all your ties end up like this?" she wondered out loud as she retied the loosely hanging tie.

They hadn't stood this close in a long time. But they used to all the time, and Josh choose this moment to remember. To remember all the times Donna had fixed his tie, and had fixed his life without a second thought. She finished and smoothed out his shirt resting her hands and his shoulders. Something flashed in Donna's eyes and Josh saw her remembering too, but she looked unsure. He held his hand out and cupped her cheek, asking her to remember. They stood there, standing close, forgiving each other, without having to say a word.

Then, he did the only thing that made sense – he kissed her. It was awkward. It took them a few seconds to figure out how they fit together. Then it was how it was supposed to be. Right.

"Hey," Santos shouted from the main room, "You two gonna join us? We're getting ready to head downstairs."

"We'll see you down there," Josh yelled in response. Neither could wipe the smile off their face. They looked at each other and started giggling. Josh pulled Donna tighter against him as they quieted down.

"Didn't really expect that tonight," Donna said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yea, me neither."

"We should get downstairs to the party."

"Yea." Josh gave a relaxed sigh and nuzzled her hair, "Can we stay like this for a few more minutes?"

Donna pulled back and looked at him, searching his eyes, finding the answer in the longing and contentment she saw. With a smile, she said, "Yea."


End file.
